Provo City Council votes against East Bay data center

The Provo City Council voted 7-0 to reject a zoning change request from Timpanogos Tech Center that would have allowed the company to build a data center in the East Bay area of Provo. Timpanogos Tech Center had proposed a zoning reclassification to change the area's designation from planned industrial commercial to a planned industrial data center overlay zone. This would have permitted the development of a 5MW data center with the potential to expand to 50MW. However, numerous Provo residents voiced concerns about the potential environmental and economic impacts of the data center. Locals with experience living near data centers warned the council about reduced quality of life and increased utility bills. Many urged the council to delay a decision until the city's ongoing economic development study is completed in late spring. Representing Timpanogos Tech Center, Stephen Styler said the company had spent a year addressing these common data center concerns. But the council ultimately decided to err on the side of caution and wait for the economic study before approving any new data center projects in the area.